News of the Day From Across the Nation

NATION

Chronicle News Services

Published 4:00 am, Friday, January 27, 2012

1 Obama tops Perry in Texas: Texas Gov. Rick Perry's White House bid tarnished his image enough that he's about as popular in his solidly Republican home state as President Obama, a poll for five Texas newspapers published Thursday shows. Perry's approval rating after his failed presidential bid has fallen to 40 percent, a 10-point drop from a year ago and slightly less than Obama's 43 percent statewide approval rating, according to the poll.

2 English language flap: A judge ruled that a city council candidate in Arizona must be removed from the ballot due to lack of English proficiency. The ruling on Wednesday came after the San Luis City Council approved a motion Jan. 13 asking for verification that Alejandrina Cabrera met the requirement of a state law that any person holding office in the state, a county or city must speak, write and read English.

3 Immigrant licenses: Republican Gov. Susana Martinez suffered a temporary political setback Thursday in a bid to stop New Mexico from granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. A legislative committee shelved her proposal and approved a Democrat-backed alternative that continues to allow licenses for illegal immigrants but with new restrictions. The measure allows illegal immigrants to continue getting licenses but for only two years before needing renewal. Currently, licenses can last four or eight years.

4 Texas execution: A convicted killer has been executed in Texas for the abduction, rape and strangulation of a 38-year-old woman 18 years ago. Thirty-eight-year-old Rodrigo Hernandez received a lethal injection Thursday for killing Susan Verstegen more than two hours after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal.

5 Whales lawsuit: Conservationists and Native American tribes are suing over the Navy's expanded use of sonar in training exercises off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts, saying the noise can harass and kill whales and other marine life. The environmental law firm Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups filed the lawsuit Thursday in San Francisco against the National Marine Fisheries Service, saying it was wrong to approve the Navy's plan for the expanded training.

6 Virus study: A new study showing an estimated 7 percent of American teens and adults carry the human papillomavirus in their mouths may help health experts finally understand why rates of mouth and throat cancer have been climbing for nearly 25 years. The evidence makes it clear that oral sex practices play a key role in transmission. The new data, published online Thursday by the Chicago-based Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to assess the prevalence of oral HPV infection in the U.S. population. The findings indicate that the virus is not likely to spread through kissing or casual contact and that most cases of oral HPV can be traced to oral sex, which many Americans mistakenly view as a safe practice.